This pa st September, the Gate way Initiative
partnered with the B oston Redevelopment
Authority and the Asian American Civic
Association, to launch the Susta inable
Storefronts Design Competition. The
competition linked 7 BAC student teams
with 6 Chinatown business owners and
a s part of a juried de sign competition to
unc over best practices for designing
sust ainable, green storefronts. The partic-
ipating businesses included; China Pe arl
Restaurant, Chung Wah Hong Market,
Great Taste Bakery and Restaurant,
Kneeland Electronics, Nam Bac Hong
Chinese Herbs and Shing Hong Trading.
“ This competition provided our BAC
students with a valuable le arning opportu-
nity to conduct research a nd apply a holistic
understanding of sustainable design through
close interaction with members of the
Chinatown business community. The
possibility of seeing their collab orative ideas
realized a nd then spearhead subsequent
storefront improvement within Chinatown
is exciting a nd motivated them to do their
best work” —Len Charney, BAC Head
of Practice
The Chinatown proje ct is intended to
help local businesses begin to address the
preser vation of the historical a spe ct of the
neighborhood, while cre ating susta inable
practices involving storefront renovation
a nd faç ade improvement. The Gateway
teams did not adhere to strict design criteria
when developing their designs; rather each
team challenged themselve s to first identif y
key issue s enc ompassing various aspects of
sustainability, and then reflect on how these
ideas informed their design solution s for the
individual businesses.
Throughout the de sign process, the te ams
explored enhancing building envelope
performanc e, the utilization of suitable and
cost-e ffective green building material s,
designing with natura l light, the production
of cle an energ y, a nd considered appropriate
signage and branding for the each storefront.
Starting with façade improvement, the tea ms
con sidered sustainability in a holistic
manner, acknowledging that green building
practices needed to b e incorporated into
ea ch of the design solution s.
The 7 teams presented their designs on
January 10th to a panel of 7 jury members
that included; Yongmei Chen, Vice President
of Eastern Ba nk; Paul Chan, Director of
Development, Massachusetts Housing
Investment Corporation; Bak Fun Wong,
Principal, Josia h Quinc y Upper School; John
Dalzell, Senior Architect, Boston Rede velop-
ment Authority; Jim Hunt, Chief, Energy
a nd Environmenta l Ser vice s, City of Boston;
Lance Fletcher, Director, Susta inable Design
Institute at The B oston A rchitectural College
a nd Matt Noblett, Partner, B ehnisch
Architects The jury commented on the
inventivenes s of each submission a nd
awa rded the $2,000 prize
to BAC Team 7 for faç ade improvements
to the ic onic China Pearl Restaura nt. The
demon stration project, in its entirety, is
under written by the Barr Foundation. L ed
by BAC instructor and recent alum, Michele
Stadelman ‘10, the student tea m is comprised
of: Ma ster of Architecture students Alyssa
Dicken, Shany Grosma n, Kyle Martin, a nd
Yosuke Urabe. The jury appreciated the
thoughtful, aesthetically pleasing application
of innovative green practices, a nd the de sign
wa s deemed respectful of Asian culture.
Jurors noted that the prominent location
of the restaurant on Tyler Street would have
a ma ximum impact a s a demon stration
project for the Chinatown c ommunity. A s
work continues this seme ster, the students
will work clos ely with the bu siness owner
a nd his contractor to move the project
towards con struction later this year, with
the construction c osts prima rily covered
by the Ba rr Foundation’s grant.
Gateway teams up with the BRA and AACA to Develop
Sustainable Business Storefronts in Boston’s Chinatown
The Chinatown project is intended to help local businesses preser ve historical
aspects of the neighborhood, while creating sustainable practices.
Sr. Architect , Boston Redevelopment Authority
Nway Oo, M.Arch presents
to the Chinatown Jur y
John Dalzell ’88
PRACTICE
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PRACTICE] GATEWAY INITIATIVE